Pear Tatin Β© πππ
“Tarte des Demoiselle Tatin” is usually made with apples, but it is also excellent made with pears! I made this, this weekend for friends and I wish I had made two or three!!!
You can use which ever pastry you prefer , but I make mine with filo pastry as it is quicker and it makes an excellent dessert.
Easy
4 persons
Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking Time : 1 hr to 1.30 hrs
Ingredients
100 g Β pears
75 g butter or more ( 25 g melted, for buttering pastry).
70 g brown sugar or more
1/2 lemon zest
3 sheets of filo pastry, or short crust or puff pastry
Decoration
Aromatic edible flowers and leaves. Here I have used rosemary and fragrant geranium.
Method
Pre-heat oven to 200.C
Defrost pastry half an hour before. I use filo pastry, but you can also use puff or short crust.
- Wash pears, peel, cut in half and core. See photographs.
- Using a glass oven-proof baking dish, sprinkle base with brown sugar and thin slices of butter. ( A glass dish enables you to see the pears turning colour).
- Place pear halves ’round’ side down wards and arrange into a nice pattern, as this will show when you turn it out.
- Sprinkle again with sugar and thin slices of butter.
- Slice the rest of the pears and fill to the top. Sprinkle again with sugar, thin slices of butter and lemon zest at each layer.
- Cover with a sheet of filo pastry, brush over with melted butter and then repeat with two more layers, buttering top layer too.
- Taking a sharp pair of kitchen scissors, cut round baking dish.
- Using a sharp knife cut a cross in the centre of the pastry, to allow the steam to escape.
- Place in centre of pre-heated oven and lightly place a sheet of tin foil on top, without tucking it down, to stop filo burning.
- Cook for one hour or more until pears have changed colour to a light caramel. This takes time, so be patient! Butter should be bubbling while cooking. Don’t be tempted to turn oven up, as this causes filo to burn!
- Once cooked, take out of oven, place large, rimmed serving dish over your dish and with a quick action of the wrists, turn over.
- Just before serving, decorate with edible aromatic flowers and leaves. I used rosemary and fragrant geranium.
Cook’s Tip. Β If by misfortune pastry burns, remove dish from oven and discard and repeat procedures 6, 7 and 8. Take care when turning out, to turn dish over quickly, so that the butter does not escape.
*If preparing ahead of time, re-heat in oven at 50.C as it should be served warm and turn out just before serving.
This is what you are aiming for.
Wash and halve pears.
Melt 25 g butter for filo pastry.
Butter should gently bubble, while cooking. ( Here photo is taken without protective foil on top.)
Remove from oven. If eating straight away turn out carefully into a deep serving dish with a quick turn of the wrists, so that the butter does not escape. Decorate just before taking to the table, so that the flowers don’t wilt. If eating later, heat through in oven at 50-100 C. before serving, and turn out last minute as it is best warm and you want to keep your pastry crispy.
Spicy Cabbage Β©
This is one of my favourite vegetable dishes. Very quick to prepare and brings out the best in the cabbage.
Easy
2 persons
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1/4 medium sized cabbage
1 tsp small coriander berries
1 chilli ( Optional)
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger diced
3 spring onions finely sliced
2 tbs Soya sauce or more to taste
2 tbs olive oil
Method
- Peel off outer corse leaves of cabbage, trim stalk and wash under tap.
- Peel ginger, slice and dice into small cubes.
- If using chilli, slice, discard seeds or not depending on how hot you like your cabbage.
- Wash and slice spring onions together with some of the green upper leaves. When all your ingredients are prepared, place two tbs oil in a Wok and add spices and onion followed by cabbage.
- Leave to fry two minutes and then begin to toss with two wooden spatulas for three-five minutes continuously over a high heat.
- Add soya sauce, toss some more, remove from heat taste, add a little more soya if necessary and serve straight away.
N.B. When cooking for more people double up the cabbage and spring onions and Soya Sauce and ginger, but not the spices. ( Chilli and coriander berries.)
This is what you are aiming for.
Pour two tbs of olive oil into your Wok or large saucepan, if you don’t have a Wok.
Gather together your ingredients. Spring onions, chilli pepper, thumb size piece of ginger, small coriander berries and cabbage.
Finely slice spring onions, ginger and chilli.
Include a little of the green leaves.
Place sliced onions, chilli, ginger and coriander berries in your Wok.
Having removed coarse outer leaves and trimmed stalk, cut cabbage in half using a large Cook’s knife.
Make two large incisions to remove stalk.
Now cut cabbage into quarters. This recipe is for two, so I have used one quarter. If making for more double up on the rest of the ingredients, except for the chilli and coriander.
With a sharp knife start to cut the cabbage, moving your knife, so as not to have too larger pieces.
Add the cabbage to the Wok.
Turn heat up high and allow spices to sizzle for one minute, before starting to turn cabbage with two wooden spatulas. Keep turning the cabbage continuously for 3-5 minutes. Try a little, the cabbage should be crisp, but not taste raw.
Finally add soya sauce, toss and remove from heat.
This is a very good soya sauce.
Final result. Excellent with Spicy Chicken.Β https://whatscookinginjaneskitchen.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/spicy-roast-chicken-and-making-gravy/
My Russian Salad Β©
This recipe was a very popular salad in the 60’s and was a favourite of my fathers. It came into my thoughts recently and I decided to make it and remember his enthusiasm every time he ate it. It is funny how as children we retain certain memories. I am not a fan of peas, so this recipe I have made without peas, which makes it much lighter. Homemade mayonnaise makes all the difference and it is a good way to use left over chicken. If you want to do something a little different you can replace the chicken with tinned tuna or better still freshly boiled shelled shrimp, the latter gives an excellent result for a special occasion.
Easy
Serves 6-8 persons
Preparation Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
3 large boiled potatoes
3 large boiled carrots
2 hard boiled eggs
Meat from 1/2 roast chicken, or tinned tuna or freshly boiled shelled shrimp
3 tbs boiled peas ( optional)
1 raw onion diced
2 gherkins
1 tbs capers
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Homemade Mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
2 tsp ‘Dijon’ mustard
1 medium lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
300 ml corn or sunflower oil
2 tbs olive oil
( Β No black pepper as it shows up in the mayonnaise.)
Garnish
Strips of tomato
Slices of gherkins
Capers
Kalamata Olive quarters
Method
- Gather together all your ingredients.
- Wash, peel and boil vegetables. Hard boil eggs.
- Cut up roast chicken into mouth sized pieces or break up tinned tuna or boil frozen shelled shrimp.
- Dice vegetables, fresh onion, gherkins and capers.
- Place all the above ingredients in a large serving bowl.
- Make up homemade mayonnaise, by placing egg yolk, salt and mustard into clean bowl. Add oil drop by drop, beating with a whisk until you have about a tablespoon of stiff mayonnaise. Then add lemon juice and the rest of the oil, more quickly, beating all the time. ( Should the mayonnaise separate, place a fresh egg yolk into a clean bowl and add the separated mixture gradually to egg yolk, beating continuously.)
- Add 2/3 rd. of the mayonnaise to the bowl of ingredients and mix well. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Level off your ingredients with a knife giving it a slightly coned shape and spoon over the remaining mayonnaise. Decorate with strips of tomato, capers, gherkins, olives and a sprig of parsley.
Cook’s Tip : This makes a great addition to a buffet, especially if made with shrimps for a special occasion.
What you are aiming for:
Make up Mayonnaise :
Place egg yolk, mustard and salt into clean bowl.
Add corn or sun flower oil very gradually. Drop by drop and mixing in each time. Here I have added a little pepper, but as you will notice, it shows up in the final result, so only add pepper to chopped ingredients.
When the mayonnaise begins to stiffen, add lemon juice, after which the remaining oil can be added more quickly. Finally add a little olive oil for flavour. Taste for salt. Add 2/3 rd. of mayonnaise to chopped ingredients and smooth off on top with a knife. Use the rest of the mayonnaise to give a smooth finish and decorate.
Final result. Serve as a starter or part of a buffet.
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